Together We Care For The Land
What is Kinsland?
Kinsland is a farming forward village-like neighbourhood of people living where their food is grown. It is a place where agriculture and community are integrated to care for the land together.
In essence, it is a place where the farm is at the heart of a community, where it will feed both the body and the soul of its residents, neighbours and visitors. The Kinsland community will be surrounded by the best of what the land has to offer, and with the help of experienced farmers, people will learn the diverse skills to pursue sustainability and resilience in our relationship to food, and vibrancy to achieve overall well-being.
The vision of Kinsland is to incorporate mixed-style housing for all stages of life around a farm to live, learn, grow, inspire and thrive. In doing so, we preserve and care for the land, together.
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
~ William Shakespeare
— William Shakespeare
Imagine…
…waking up to sounds of nature, enjoying fresh eggs for breakfast directly from the farm shed just steps from your front door.
…how it would feel that you know where your food comes from and some you had a hand to help grow, together with the guidance of the expert resident farmers.
…walking to the community barn with your family to pick up the latest harvest for supper or taking a canning workshop in the fall with neighbours in the community kitchen.
… volunteering your time to gather the harvest from the working farm to sell at the local farmer’s market.
…going for bike rides with visiting friends and family on the trails and ending the day with fresh baked goods at the community bakery coffee shop or better yet dining together in the resident farm-to-table restaurant.
The Mission
This type of community that Kinsland aims to become - commonly known as an Agrihood/Eco-Village is not new. Even though there are many successful examples of these projects throughout the world, they are still rare in Canada.
Our misson is to create a team of farmers, permaculture experts, urban planners, and architects to build this kind of connected-to-land neighbourhoods that will attract like-minded, eco-conscious people to live in a place where they can participate in the work of regenerative agriculture. In doing so, the community will support and learn to grow food with the Kinsland Team of consultants in order to feed their families and surrounding communities.
The Kinsland team will lead the way to encourage its planners, developers, vendors, residents, their families, and the local community to care for food production through hands-on initiatives. They will be getting their hands dirty and will witness something grow from seed to harvest that will nurture the community and beyond. This kind of experience will reward all participants with a rippling healing effect that only can be experienced with time, commitment, and patience.
We are committed to creating Kinsland with the mindset of an eager student, and we know great things happen when we are open to tackling challenges. We have plans to work with and, to learn from experienced farmers, agrihood planners, the local community, and city council to create the best-case scenario with the land that we have to work with.
First and foremost, we will be consulting with established farms in the area to collaborate on building a robust food system, not only for the residents of Kinsland but for the surrounding neighbourhoods.
We will prioritize our goals for regenerative agriculture and sound food security. We will work on these goals with patience and the understanding that good things will come to those that are willing to support nature’s intrinsic value.
Next Steps
Environmental Sustainability – reducing carbon footprint and other negative impacts on the environment:
• Energy: Solar, Geothermal
• Agriculture: Biodynamic farming – composting, crop rotation, etc. (maintains the land’s nutrients)
• Walkable community
Economic Sustainability – creating jobs, generating income and economic circulation within the community:
• Farmer’s market
• Farm-to-table eatery
• CSA
• Village/main street – live/work
• Standalone commercial
• A knowledge network & outreach
Social Sustainability – ensuring access to basic necessities and opportunities to grow
Inclusivity – access to affordable housing
Community resources and engagement: gathering spaces, eatery, workshops, tool library, animal husbandry etc.
Slowly, with our team’s clear vision to guide Kinsland to blossom into not only a grounded, wholistic and fun place to live, but a place that will inspire those around us to live with intention and reverence.
We not only want to use the land to grow healthy and beautiful food, but we also want to grow healthy and beautiful families in Kinsland. We believe that we will attract the right people to partner with us to build communities and overcome obstacles together.
Kinsland’s steps toward a sustainable community:
“Our dream is to preserve the land and bring out its intrinsic value with a community of like-minded people”
— Kinsland Team